was. the stories that shaped the way here and tantamount to torture that russia describes the conditions in which the u.s. is holding the keys kremlin agent. we speak to her lawyer. very difficult situation particularly for someone like her or someone who out of the government spending a day in jail or a life to be. a pretty tough sort of. us turkey tensions get worse as anchor of one's relations have come to a complete halt. the syrian city one of the worst hit by the war is undergoing extensive reconstruction after years of conflict. hello there the latest developments and

a look back at the last seven days to you watch the weekend here on r.t. international. now this week there was another twist in the latest alleged russian spy scandal in the u.s. the russian embassy in washington says that maria big is being subjected to conditions that are tantamount to torture she's been charged with being an arm registered foreign agent recently transferred to a different prison meanwhile a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to pay for her legal fees her lawyer. on her condition. i was unaware that she was transferred until last night at around midnight i received a collect call from her at home and the phone was disconnected before we could get through but i knew it was from alexandria jail so i drove down and tried to get in last night and could not but i was able to get in this morning and visit her so she is in alexandria detention facility at least for now for this weekend it's a smaller facility than the d.c. jail as respected facility but it's hard to know why the move was made where there

was made for medical or other reasons or in response to complaints about the conditions in d.c. she does have arthritis in one of her legs kind of a history of problems with that leg so she sought treatment for that and so far has just received tylenol and nothing else and i think she has also been a little bit frustrated by policy when people are in protective custody they do bad checks every fifteen minutes at night check on detainee safety and i think sometimes depending on who the guard is you know the lights are turned on every time there's a check and so it's very hard to get proper sleep when you're being woken up every fifteen minutes she's segregated from the general population of the prison facility you know no contact really with outside people besides her lawyers and occasional phone calls and when you're being held it's in some isolation like that it's difficult because every every thing she wanted to do is kind of a one off request there isn't a very set schedule and so it was very difficult to make sure she was getting her proper exercise and. trips to the library and things like that because everything

she did she had to do by yourself doesn't anyone would have an easy time in prison but in this is an accomplished student you know someone who i don't think ever envision spending a day in jail or a life to be in you know it's a pretty tough facility. well there you can it was refused by a law to play the no guilty he's also accused of offering sex no attempt to get a job with an unnamed special interest group if convicted she could face up to fifteen years in prison now a date has been set for her trial although her lawyer remains optimistic she's in very good shape she's helping actively with us to prepare the defense she's confident in her innocence there's no allegation of espionage there's no allegation of classified information style geishas she was paying anyone off there's no allegation she was recruiting spies none of the things you would typically see in an espionage case the allegations are fairly vanilla that she attended meetings of various groups that were public that she had dinners with various people and she

took a lot of selfies as i think a lot of people are twenty's do with with people she met and posted them on facebook so this is not the kind of a typical this is no comparison to what the allegations were against for example at a chapman or others where there was actual whether they were true or not their actual allegations about use of sophisticated equipment and payoffs and spy ring and things like that there's none of that here with some point made try to get her released pretrial again we're just looking through documents trying to find the proper evidence to do that and i think we may be able to do that hopeful in the next couple of weeks. that was the u.s. to the economic standoff goes from bad to worse by side slapping big tariffs on each other president has warned that ankara is ready to challenge washington. some believe they can threaten us with the economy sanctions exchange rates interest rates inflation here's what we tell them we've uncovered your schemes and

we challenge you. tensions rose after anchor detained in the american pastor for alleged terror links washington then put new tariffs on turkish metals sending the lira to record lows against the dollar and ankara in return hiked rates on key american products including cars and alcohol the u.s. now insists it sanctions will stay even if the past is really just. this one american to put global financial stability at risk. put u.s. base presence in turkey at risk put a nato alliance with a nato partner at risk for one american who is being put through the churches just so you're saying this is our fault turkey is our financial situation has been in the works for quite some time and it dates prior to the imposition of sanctions on august i believe was august the first so this is been in train for quite some

time and even up when the u.s. government for that are stepping in on turkey side is cattle which will fifteen billion dollars into the country's economy i mean well arty's down courtis been looking at the decades old alliance between the u.s. and turkey and why it's come to this. she was built. leading us to great new trade deals as opposed to the horrible food trade deals the drawing heritages your president of the country should not be allowed to come in and steal the wealth of all great you. what countries could he mean are stealing could be turkey the country's lira shed a quarter of its value against the dollar in just one week after trump's tweet about doubling existing tariffs investors are running away screaming inflation surging and turkey's leadership is bracing for an all out trade war the reason for such a calamity against an old nato friend was ankara's refusal to release an american

pastor accused of both terrorism and espionage it's punishment time for a rebellious ally that tariffs that are in place on steel would not be removed with the release of pastor bronson and president her to one lashed out in defiance calling the u.s. move an attempt to force turkey to surrender and make them a slave to the greenback this is come through. to through come more. and they want to use this for political purposes but turkey is just one example of how the trumpet ministration treats longtime allies in fact many of america's friends have already been forced into the fray in a war of tariffs and sanctions canada had heavy steel and aluminum tariffs imposed earlier this year and trump perhaps thought the stars and stripes needed some

protection from its northern neighbor who didn't take too kindly to it that it's kind of insult to move forward with retaliatory measures on july first applying equivalent. tariffs as if that wasn't bad enough the us president went and slapped tariffs on europe today i'm defending america's national security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum brussels tried to hit back with restrictions of its own tried to appeal to the transatlantic solidarity special relations bonds of friendship but to no avail and it begs the question with such a long list of enemies the us is currently fighting from iran to north korea russia china why can't your allies i think this has become a real tit for tat thing and i do not for a new york minute think that the pastor is really what is going on here of course are washington with that group of strain for some time ever since the coup attempt

against terror go on i suspect there's something going on with regional politics maybe with regard to syria that is really the reason behind its competitors like beijing and moscow attempting to pack as much heat as the u.s. these days sanctioning and scaring everyone in view may be the only way for the u.s. to impose its will on friend and foe alike donald quarter r.t. well in protest against washington's actions some to have decided to destroy their i phones and post the footage. of the no no no no no no. i. say with the syrian army regaining control across the country efforts are underway

to rebuild the shouted nation eco she done off travel to the city of aleppo to see how locals there are slowly picking up the pieces. much of the city of aleppo is still in ruins reviving it to its former glory is a task of gargantuan proportions and of immense political and economic importance the citadel of aleppo has become the symbol of the city's resistance. but aleppo is much more than just a maze of antique streets and attractions from history books.

the militants have stolen computer units with chips for the machine they destroyed the factory on purpose they wanted to damage syrian industry as a whole and specifically industry in aleppo reviving this sex out. of. one river to go over this area. and basically very dysfunctional hunker. down want to be. but now that the former industrial hub is slowly getting back on track things are finally looking up for the people of aleppo. two years ago during the war we couldn't even open our shops the shelling snipers were everywhere you couldn't live under such circumstances we cover the roof of the building back then so that we could take cover it was unbearable we took shelter for about half an hour whenever the

shelling started we just locked ourselves in here thank god now we can work peacefully day and night we just hang around smoking just like the guy. good old days under joe hello the atmosphere is really good around here the weather is nice everybody is feeling safe and it's only getting better you can see getting better day by day. i was lucky enough not to leave my home the wind this is the district the rebels couldn't get to at the time there was a blockade once but it was firmly lifted now saying god things about or despite all the things we've been through we're no better than one of them when you know it's safe you can return home if your house lies in ruins you can still fix it the main thing is it's safe now. just a couple of years ago these tents used to protect people in the street from falling shows and debris well now they're sheltering them from the sun historically the

city of aleppo has been the economic capital of syria and now with the war gone finally some traders are coming back to the streets. don of reporting from aleppo in syria. this week a motorway bridge collapsed in the italian city of genoa killing at least forty three people including three children in response the country's prime minister has declared a twelve month state of emergency in the area. different outcome of the political. effectiveness of. elections i call it

a. lot. of a lot of you. have developed into a way. point on the. and look at the above normal. oval him up up close look a little. closer to visit a lot of you know. as the investigation into the tragedy continues the company which manages the bridge has set up a fund to help the victims and also has pledged to rebuild the crossing to apologize the people of genoa and all those who suffered. the weekly continues after.

the same wrong well we just don't all. get to shape out these days. and indeed. the trail.

is worlds apart. to look for common ground. hello again now a young girl from the u.s. state of maryland who was reportedly reprimanded for kneeling during the pledge of allegiance at a school has won the support of hillary clinton the former presidential candidate tweeted it does take courage to express disagreement with injustice eleven year old marianna taylor hopes now that more people will join her it's important to stand up . for identifying what it is. that it was leaking. marianna there said that she was inspired by an american football quarterback who notes during the national anthem before a game back in twenty sixteen he said it was against racial inequality and also

police brutality and his silent protest seems spread among other athletes as well and it provoked a far replaced call debate which went all the way to the white house you love to see one of these are followers when somebody disrespects our flag to say get that son of a up the field right now our this guy that was not against our anthem or our flag that was actually kneeling is a reference position responding to the girl's move the american civil rights union urged all maryland schools to guarantee students the freedom of speech without punishment meanwhile the girl's school has issued a statement it says it's not aware of any students being disciplined for such behavior but we put the issue up for debate with the former missouri republican john loudon and also richard goodstein he's a former adviser to the hillary clinton presidential campaign. football is about football schools about school and if you have a protest protest in

a constructive way this girl can write letters to the editor she can arrange a little march but protesting in your classroom to irritate your classmates and virtue signal and that's what she's being taught mom's teaching her mom is so proud you're taking to the streets is that bothersome to people is that annoying to people when you get when you get arrested disproportionately when you get shot disproportionately when you get put in jail just proportionally that's not just annoying that's totally ruining your life so the fact you're taking to the streets is not merely disruptive you're trying to make a point in less you have a goal and something that you actually have a path to accomplish then you're just disrupting you're just being an antagonist to your fellow athletes or the fans or in this case to her classmates what does she want what's going to make her stand peace on earth and you know will we ever get to the point where there's no discrimination no there are bigoted people let's

stipulate that there are people who are bigoted they will be bigoted forever donald trump is giving them a voice but the fact of the matter is it's not to say it's wrong for them to basically stand up for what they believe in that's what this little girl was doing that's all the democratic party the united states gets her power on dividing people and separating us versus them there's class warfare gender warfare they want to show that everybody's got a reason for injustice and they need to vote democrat to war in order to fix it and that's all this is it's just it's pure politics and hillary hillary clinton got millions more votes than donald trump did and her campaign theme was being together not dividing people she wasn't mocking handicapped people she wasn't telling punch him in the jaw and i'll pay your legal bills that's not what her theme was thirteen was about bringing people together. this evening alone in a communist. paris reportedly left at least twenty two people injured seven is said

to be in a critical condition including five children the fire started around seven pm in the top floor of the three story building around eighty firemen fought to bring the situation under control a policeman with a first on the scene are among those that are injured because of the blaze is not yet. the afghan government has announced a cease fire with the taliban in light of islamic holidays being celebrated worldwide the trees comes after a significant escalation of fighting between the two sides hundreds of people including civilians being killed. you know. i saw my friend dying he was among thirteen people including children and women who

were killed during an airstrike last night and there's no attention from the government you know facilities for the residents are you going the dead bodies are still on the roads and i've also been injured. where the city of gas and where the taliban offensive started does have to teach you can pour location close to the capital kabul in a prank or looks now at how almost two decades of the american led war in afghanistan isn't getting any closer to achieving peace. this is what's happening just a little more than one hundred kilometers from the capital kabul there's barely a camera in gaza any available to film this dreadful battle locals say there are stronger descriptions than simply the taliban is back in action and if it wasn't for u.s. airstrikes the afghan army could have been in far worse trouble so it makes you

wonder do american diplomats and their military keep in touch there is nothing that precludes us from an gauging with the taliban we're doing everything we can to ensure that our actions help the taliban and the afghan government does the same table. everything they can only a few weeks ago the state department said talking with the taliban was a good idea and regardless of how hostile their actions the extremists say they're forward to this is what we wanted and were waiting for to sit with the us directly and discuss the withdrawal of foreign troops from afghanistan the rumor is there's already been some direct contact at least we know for sure alice wells went to qatar last month where the taliban's got a political office i'm confused the armed group has all but regained its might which not so long ago are in them a reputation of outright islamist barbarians in america and pretty much all over

the world we acted and the taliban no longer is in power in afghanistan which is not only good for the security of the free world it is incredibly good for the people who suffered in afghanistan on the barbaric rule time flies us administrations come and go fair enough but the things the people in charge say about insurgents today could be totally different tomorrow taliban this taliban that the taliban are fighting isis and we encourage that because isis needs to be destroyed. oh so they're good for something at least if it's about knocking out islamic state he had just a few months earlier general nicholson said the taliban's fight against diana was a piece of russian propaganda we see oh and they're rid of this being used that grossly exaggerates the number of isis fighters here this narrative energy used as

a justification for the russians to legitimize the actions of the taliban and provide some degree of support complicated hol of ghana's stan business as usual and the american strategy for afghanistan see above the american strategy strategy from the beginning of the so-called war on terror which was launched after the september eleventh attacks as this war has turned out to be an utter failure. you know i was we all know it was in a stronger position than it ever was in two thousand and one. so and so i think it's proof that the u.s. has been pursuing a wrong strategy in defeating terrorism on the contrary i think that the u.s. involvement up until now when the focus on military force in the region has looked to the growth of terrorism the taliban is not just pulling out a gun it's firing it it could be time for the pentagon and the state department to

hunt for ideas together and be more precise in the prank reporting even more in the weekly here and we're back with the headlines this morning just a behind. it's . what politicians do something to. put themselves on the lawn. to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president or injury or somehow want to grips with that it's a going to be for us this is what the before christmas tree in the morning can't be

good that i'm interested always in the waters in my house. first sit. you. that's a very rough terrain you sort of climates and you have to fight to be able to this land. it was gunshots on top of them and so many friends who would have been in the and i've been and you don't like i. don't want me going back up. you know i don't when you see it but a body in the true will is needed to participate in the good. old to me a good mood and. you don't think about this leave these soldiers on the you just treat you like and you know do you know their patients.

are. going to welcome to the part we may leave in the global village but every corner office villages guarded by different polls on what one may or may not same public one man's truthteller has long become another man's bigot while public debate often comes down to have done ting outrage or hurling insults rather than discussing policy is it still possible to have a substantive conversation of those who disagree with a new team in front of to discuss that i'm now joined by katie hopkins a british journalist and media personality katie good to talk to thank you very

much for your time thank you for seeing me now you're a pretty controversial person in your own country and many people consider you a purposefully offensive and the us over the past few days that you've been here in russia and seen. it is work of only sad nice things that have this century we did it honestly is not very used to hearing nice things about itself being purposefully spiteful i saying all those things as a contrarian. people have been surprised by my reporting from st petersburg because i love this place i love the openness of it and it's been a real surprise to me we are i think in the west in my personal view putin is painted as a monster and this is very much the monsters lair and people almost fifty actually of coming to russia because there's this idea that somehow a frightening place and all i've been trying to present to people and show people i think is that it's only ever what i see or my truth and my truth from this place is

that i love it i feel very safe here much safer than in london for example and i also find people here to be really russian first so they identify as russian to me and that's a real different from the country that i well let me pick up on that point because you had want specifically about seemed to rile a lot of people you describe the city as a place untouched by the myth of multiculturalism and deranged diversity and i'm sure you seen all those dozens of replies of people pointing out. most multicultural city in. a role that of course one hundred sixty nationalities are built by. the french and the buildings and the dutch name of what i mean we also have a very vibrant muslim community who petitioned this our first mosque. or you know i heard it all i see that i get what people are saying i get them but when you

come to some petersburg as an outsider and i'm an outsider it's feels russian people if you speak to people in the street or with help but i speak to people in the street they identify as russian first you go to the u.k. you go. find any of that russian mean then ethnic affiliation or it may mean national affiliation so most of the different nationalities whom we all love to have in this city it would also identify as russian i wonder if you given the few who get so much maybe multiculturalism is not such a bad thing after all no because i don't buy your definition of multiculturalism at all and just because you have one most with five thousand people able to fit into it that does not in any way replicate the europe that i know i've just come from belgium in fact that you hardly kept out of europe where they have twenty two mosques in the six kilometer square do you have miles or kilometers here kilometers yeah six kilometers square area twenty two miles.